Wedding DJ

cwest1011

I've been reading the vendor reviews and I'm so thankful for them so far! I was just curious if anyone had any additional details about a DJ for their reception. I'm so clueless...this is one area where I don't know what a fair price would be and I'm unsure how to choose. If anyone has more information about the DJ you used or will be using I would really, really appreciate it. 

If it makes a difference, we're getting married in Hatteras, so extra travel costs for a DJ might be a factor for me.

Thank you!

OBX2011

I posted a response in the Comfort Inn thread below this one

SassyToez

We are using Sue Artz and she didn't charge any extra.

summerstar23005

I used DJ Bruce. He didn't charge a travel Fee and we got married in duck. He was $200 for the first 4 hours and then $100 for each additional hour after that. He was great! easy to work with, professional, and really knew how to keep the party going. he was able to improvise when the house sound systen didn't quite work the way that we excected too. Loved him!

SassyToez

By the way, Courtney, Sue charged us 975 and we had to put 375 down.

cwest1011

Excellent, thanks! This gives me a great base to start getting into contacting DJs.

[Deleted User]

We originally wanted John Harper, but he was booked. He suggested a friend of his, Matt Cooper. So far, so good. I actually have a phone meeting with him today to make any final adjustments. 

He is really easy to contact and he always gets back to his emails quickly. I think we only had to put a 100 deposit down for him, if I remember correctly. I believe he is also 200/hr.

Good luck!

rglasgow

We are using Matt Cooper as well! I believe he is 200 for the first 4 then 100 for each additional. It seems to be the average for a DJ.  Good luck

branfrog1

I used Music by Tommy (Tommy Midgett) and really liked him.  I found him to be much cheaper than the others.  He is $100 per hour.

mandafite821

I got married in Hatteras as well.  We used John Harper, he did not charge a travel fee.  He was probably one of my favorite vendors.  So easy to get ahold of, and just so nice.  

keb2482

We used John Harper and were very happy with his services during the wedding. Many people danced all night and no one wanted to leave.  He was $200/hour, period.  No break for extra hours. 

We were turned off however at the end of the reception.  He never mentioned when the final balance was due (even though I talked to him several times the week of my wedding, and more before that).  Then at the end of the night he approached me that he hadn't been paid the final balance.  I had no idea what had been paid or not at that point.  My mom wrote so many checks and made so many credit card payments, it was nuts.  My mom had not brought her checkbook due to all the hustle and bustle.  We told him where we were staying, that we'd be there for an entire week more, and even offered to drop off a check the very next day.   He was extremely rude to my parents and actually told my mom to go visit the ATM down the street.  My mom informed him that while we had all the money in the bank, it is impossible to get that much money out of an ATM at one time.  He then told my mom that she better "take up a collection" because no one was leaving until he got paid.  We managed to figure it out as luckily my mom's cousin had HER checkbook and my mom wrote her a check the next day.

Now, I understand that people deserve to get paid for their services.  However, this was handled so badly.  First, John should have mentioned to me in one of the eight conversations we had leading up to the wedding that the final balance needed to be paid.  We had so many balls in the air, we didn't realize.  Second, if John had approached us early in the night (before 11pm - the end of the reception) we could have had someone run back to the house to get a checkbook before everyone was too intoxicated (we had transportation for the entire guest list back to Nags Head from Manteo.) 

mandafite821

CWEST,

Where are you getting married in Hatteras?

Amanda

lfairall

DJ BRUCE DJ BRUCE DJ BRUCE!!! My fiance and I are ridiculously excited to have him DJ our september wedding - if he knew how often we talked about him, he'd probably be totally weirded out LOL. he was spinning during the wedding expo in January 2011 when we went looking for our vendors, and was fantastic. he's also not cheesy AT ALL, which is huge for us (let's be honest, who really likes most wedding DJ's? :P). He's young, hip, and he DJs a weekly hip hop night every week (I should probably mention that we are having STRICTLY hip-hop - new and old school - with a little bit of classic Michael Jackson, and that is IT. no requests, absolutely no cheesy wedding songs, no slow songs beyond our first dance. We've been together for what will be 10 years the week of our wedding (we're both 28), and we want the whole thing to feel more like a party and less like a wedding. After meeting all the other DJs as well during the expo, DJ Bruce was the hands-down obvious choice. And, yes, he doesn't charge a travel fee, which is great bc we are getting married in the 4x4 beaches. 

katiegrace7

We used Sue Artz for the reception DJ and Violin during the ceremony.  We loved her, she was fabulous.  Matt her husband is a photographer, so you get 3 services from one vendor-and they are really budget friendly.  My pics are amazing, and the reception was a blast because of Sue's personality and energy.

cwest1011

I'm getting married on the beach in Hatteras Village and our reception is at Nautilus - a Surf or Sound event home in the Village. I love it!

I'm sending some e-mails this weekend. Thanks for all the amazing advice!